Brent Spiner's eyes are blue. This may come as a surprise to many people familiar with the actor from his best-known role. It takes yellow contact lenses, not to mention darkened hair and a coat of gold-tinted body paint, to transform Spiner into Data, the inquisitive android from "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Underneath the shiny makeup, Spiner is a versatile actor who has appeared on Broadway in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Sunday in the Park with George," and in "1776."

Did you hear it? Cheers of elation that turned to "aw, man!" when people realized that there was no "Meh" button coming to Facebook, new"Star Trek" movie starring George Takei or GPS-enabled sippy cup for your kid. April Fool's gags, sure. But not bad ideas, really. Takei's post got 80,544 likes, hundreds of reposts and blog entries with old-school Trekkies practically drooling with excitement. He wrote: "The studio has acknowledged the fan enthusiasm for this concept ever since I appeared in command of the vessel in 'The Undiscovered Country.' J.J. Abrams will d irect, with Robert Orci again writing the screenplay.

Ever wonder what happens to the World's Greatest Athlete after he wins the Olympic decathlon gold medal? Dan O'Brien, 1996 Olympic champion, has moved on to eclipsing new heights in . . . hopscotch. This week, O'Brien set the world hopscotch record, according to Guinness World Records, by completing a game in 1:21.63 at Chelsea Piers in New York City. Which answers the question: Do they keep speed records for games of hopscotch? Less clear: Why?

It looks like the newest "Star Trek" movie is living long and prospering. "Star Trek Into Darkness," J.J. Abrams' latest contribution to the venerable franchise, is the bestselling DVD and Blu-ray title and a top rental. The film that made more than $466 million worldwide in theaters was also the top video-on-demand title. With the fall TV season about to get into full swing, DVD sets of popular series are also populating the bestseller list. ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll Ahead of its seventh-season premiere Thursday on CBS, the sixth season of "The Big Bang Theory" was the second-biggest seller. "Now You See Me," Summit Entertainment's film about investigators pursuing a team of illusionist bank robbers, came in at No. 3. Besides "The Big Bang Theory," other TV shows with seasons debuting in the Top 10 were "Homeland's" second season, "Supernatural's" eighth and "Castle's" fifth. Here are the top titles for the week that ended Sept.

After all these years, Leonard Nimoy is unsure why "Star Trek" still enthralls. "I've tried to come at that question many times," says the man who was Spock. "There are a lot of factors: hope for the future, mankind survives, the teamwork of the characters, the avoidance of pandering and talking down to the audience, the scientific credibility. It all adds up to an interesting theatrical experience."

QUESTION: I am on a limited budget and I am interested in building one of those do-it-yourself insulated foam block/concrete houses. How energy-efficient are they and are they easy and inexpensive to build? ANSWER: The new types of foam block/concrete houses are extremely energy-efficient, especially for air conditioning. They are very well-insulated with minimal air leakage and look like any conventionally-built house. The first manufacturers were located in California.

George Murdock Character actor often played the 'heavy' George Murdock, 81, a veteran character actor who had a recurring role as Lt. Scanlon on the television sitcom "Barney Miller" and played God in the 1989 film "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier," died Monday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, said his close friend and fellow actor Jennifer Rhodes. He had cancer. Murdock's craggy facial features and booming bass voice helped him land a steady stream of "heavy" parts in theater, film and television productions.

Paramount Pictures, whose ninth installment of the long-running and highly lucrative "Star Trek" movie series lands in theaters today, has the secret to sequel success: Make 'em at a price. While their box-office grosses and special effects may be dwarfed by such high-octane contemporary blockbusters as "Independence Day" and "Men in Black," the "Star Trek" movies cost about half as much to make and continue to be extraordinarily profitable for Paramount. The studio, owned by Viacom Inc.

Jonathan Frakes, one of the stars of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," is now heading up the WB's "Roswell: The Next Generation." Actually, he isn't changing the title of "Roswell," the network's first-year drama about alien teens. But Frakes, who is an executive producer of the series, is helping move the show in a new direction as it reenters the prime-time schedule tonight. It formerly aired on Wednesdays.

You couldn't blame officers for taking an interest in the young man wandering through the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica. First, he seemed to be drunk, the Mirror newspaper reported. Second, he was wearing clothes that still bore their sales tags -- the tags of a nearby store. Asked for identification, he opened his backpack and inadvertently revealed a fine collection of 14 knives, still in their packaging and also bearing the tags of the same store. A check determined that -- surprise!